The first two Game & Watch Multi Screen games (Oil Panic and Donkey kong) were released close to each other in May and June of 1982.

[Video uploaded by Youtube user ksoik]

Two more were released at the end of 1982, just in time for Christmas: Mickey & Donald and Greenhouse.

[Video uploaded by Youtube user ksoik]

Donkey & Kong II followed in March of 1982, bringing the total to five.

The first five Multi Screen Game & Watch games

We will take a look at these five in a future post, but first focus on the three that followed: Mario Bros. (product code MW-56), Rain Shower (LP-57) and Lifeboat (TC-58).

These three have the same housing design: the clamshell opens like a little book and the two screens sit next to each other. This sets them apart from the other Multi Screen games, that have a lid that opens up, and two screens sitting above each other.

The Multi Screen games retailed for ¥6,000.

Mario Bros. was the first of the three to be released. It saw the light of day on White Day (March 14) of 1983, although that probably was just a coincidence.

It is my personal favorite Game & Watch. And not just because it was my first, although that may play a role as well.

I will let the images below do most of the talking.

Nintendo Game & Watch Multi Screen Mario Bros. (1983)

In August of 1983, Mario Bros. got a brother: Game & Watch Multi Screen Rain Shower.

Nintendo Game & Watch Multi Screen Rain Shower (1983)

The final of these three Multi Screens followed in October of 1983: Lifeboat.

Nintendo Game & Watch Multi Screen Lifeboat (1983)

I really adore these games. The housing design and colors, the game logos, the gameplay and controls: everything is so well designed and simply oozes the labour of love of the Nintendo team.

Between December 1983 and as late as 1989 (Game & Watch Zelda), seven more Multi Screen games followed, bringing the total to fifteen. More on these some other time.